Even Gods Get Sick
by Emerald Autumn
Summary: Just like the title says. Loki gets sick and goes looking for Thor.


It was yet another day on Midgard. A warm day, free of clouds in the blue sky. Thor was sparring with Captain America, pitting his beloved Mjolnir against Steve's shield. The other blonde man was a good partner to train with, as he was harder to tire than the others.

"Yo, Capsicle, answer your phone!" Clint Barton's irritated voice preceded the Hawkeye himself dropping from the vents in the tower. The archer was in his full battle gear and the irritated look on his face said he had been looking for them for a while.

"Sorry, Clint I think I broke it again," Steve replied sheepishly, backing off from Thor and making his way to where his towel and water bottle waited. A phone, one of Tony Stark's latest models, was held out to Barton from uncertain fingers.

Clint snatched the phone up and tapped on the screen. Thor didn't understand this 'touch screen' thing they all spoke of. He didn't understand a phone, really. It was a method of contacting those far away. On Asgard they travelled in order to talk to people. Midgardians were strange.

"You just didn't charge it Cap, don't worry," Clint sighed and tossed the phone back onto the bench Steve was sitting on, "We have a situation in the city."

Steve instantly perked up, straightening up into his warrior persona. "What's going on? I didn't hear the call for the Avengers to assemble."

"No official call, there's just a few reports of a certain green-eyed God wandering around central park," Clint said, eyeing Thor.

Thor perked up now. Loki was in New York? What was his brother doing here? What mischief was he planning?

"What's he doing?" Steve demanded as he started striding out of the room, Clint and Thor hurrying to catch up.

"Not much really, he's just wandering around. The only reason we've even heard of it is because people recognise him. There's an evacuation underway for the immediate area but so far he's not done anything to cause panic or mayhem," Clint told them both as they hurried to the quinjet where the rest of the Avengers were waiting.

"Nice of you to join us," Tony said, his voice altered by the Iron Man mask. "Let's go catch Crazy, I wanna be home by lunch."

Thor glared at Tony's name for his brother but Steve held up a hand to him before Thor could defend Loki.

Steve ordered Tony to head out first to check out the scene while the rest of them climbed onto the quinjet Natasha was piloting. Thor was tempted to use Mjolnir to follow Tony, but bowed to Steve's reasoning that Thor's presence might provoke an attack from the other God. In the past, Thor's presence had always irritated Loki more than the others.

On the way to the park, Thor was left to wonder what his brother might be thinking. What could bring Loki to the city the Avengers called home? In the past few months Loki had been surprisingly quiet, so much so Thor had started to believe Loki might have travelled to another realm.

Now here was Loki, apparently just wandering around the park in the middle of the city. What was his plan?

"I have eyes on Reindeer Games," Tony's voice came over the communication devices that all of them had in their ears.

"What's he doing, Tony?" Steve asked, his stance ready for action.

"Not much, he's wandering around some random part of the park, just stumbling between the trees. Hey, Thor, can Loki get drunk?" Tony asked.

"Yes, but I have found no substance on Midgard that can cause intoxication in myself. Loki would be no different so that cannot be it," Thor replied.

"What other explanation is there?" Tony asked, sounding curious.

Thor had no answer and neither did the rest of them.

They reached the park and Natasha landed a short distance from where Tony was hovering in the air, presumably over Loki's location. Bruce stayed in the aircraft while the rest of the Avengers filed out and started heading towards Loki. Clint scaled a tree and set up while everyone else started fanning out to keep Loki contained.

"Umm, guys, Loki's not alone anymore," Tony's voice sounded through the comms as Iron Man flew a little closer to the stumbling figure amongst the trees.

"Who is it?" Steve demanded.

"Not a who but a what," Tony replied then abruptly dodged into the air as a giant, purple…kitten? Lunged into the air and missed Tony's boots by about an inch.

There was a loud thud as the kitten hit the ground and then sat staring up Tony's hovering shape.

"What the hell is that?" Natasha growled, getting her weapons ready.

"It's a giant purple kitten. Loki sneezed something purple that grew into Godzilla-kitty."

"Purple mist?"

Thor was starting to get an idea of what was going on so while his teammates started plotting about how best to approach Loki now that he was guarded by a giant purple kitten, Thor made his way closer to his brother's form now wavering in front of one of the trees.

"Loki?" Thor asked when he got closer.

Loki looked up and just as Thor had suspected, Loki's eyes were glazed with fever and his forehead was shiny with sweat. His mouth was open as he gasped in wheezy breaths through chapped lips and he swayed even while standing still.

"Thor?" Loki's voice was harsh and sounded painful. Thor moved closer, watching the kitten who was more focused on the hovering Iron Man than on Thor.

"Aye, brother, it is I. What is wrong?" Thor asked, though his suspicions were already confirmed.

Loki blinked at him hazily then looked at the purple kitten as it once again leapt into the air trying to catch Tony. He turned back to Thor, "I think I'm sick."

Thor rushed forward and caught his estranged sibling as the other God slumped to the ground. Loki's face was pale but hot to the touch; his body was weak and shaking.

Loki looked up at Thor with bleary eyes when the God of Thunder scooped the Silver-Tongue up into his arms like a child. Nuzzling into Thor's armour Loki gave a soft sigh that ended on a cough before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

"What's going on, down there?" Tony's voice demanded, "Can someone catch this cat so it stops trying to eat me? I am not a chew toy!"

Despite the protests of the team, Thor brought Loki back to the tower where he could tend to his brother in peace. The kitten disappeared shortly after Loki fell asleep, dissipating into dust. But as the days went by, Thor's rooms became home to much more than kittens.

Thor had always taken care of Loki when they were younger. Loki had been a sickly child in his younger years and Thor had taken it upon himself to help his mother care for his younger sibling.

Over the years, even as they grew older and the distance between them greatened, Loki always sought out Thor when he was sick. Apparently now was no different. Loki had come to the city he knew the Avengers called home and wandered around in an effort to catch Thor's attention. He must have been sicker than he thought or else he would have known to come straight to the tower.

Loki spiked a high fever, sweating and panting in his agony. Thor cooled him down and comforted him when Loki whimpered in his sleep. Loki actively sought out Thor's touch, demanding in a hoarse voice that Thor rub his back or stroke his hair. Thor did so in an effort to make the other feel better, and also because it had been so long since his younger sibling had allowed him so close.

"I wish you would stay like this brother," Thor murmured to Loki's sleeping form. Loki had been ill for three days and his fever was finally breaking. The myriad of animals that appeared when Loki's magic fluctuated, were mostly gone. The bright blue jellyfish was still bobbing up against the ceiling and the yellow hedgehog had made its home in Thor's sock drawer. Thor would miss them when Loki's magic stabilised, indicating Loki was almost well again.

On the fifth day, the animals were all gone and Loki was sleeping peacefully. Thor lay on the bed next to him, watching Loki's face while the other slept. It was such a peaceful expression he wore that Thor's heart near burst. How long had it been since Loki had looked so innocent and peaceful? When had that sweet little spark left his brother?

"You're staring again," Loki's voice broke Thor out of his thoughts and he realised he was no longer staring at a sleeping face but at a pair of bright green eyes.

"How do you feel?" Thor asked casually, knowing Loki would soon leave.

"Much better, thank you for tending to me," Loki said, he stretched tentatively and then re-curled his limbs, looking perfectly happy to stay where he was for the time being.

"It was my honour to take care of you while you were ill," Thor rumbled. He let his earnest feelings seep through and hoped Loki saw them.

Loki didn't reply, he searched Thor's face for a time before closing his eyes again and falling into a light doze.

Thor stayed watching Loki sleep for a long time after that.

When next Loki awoke, Thor was sitting in an armchair by the bed. He was reading a Midgardian novel that had intrigued him and didn't at first notice that his sibling was awake.

"I didn't know you could read," Loki's words, for once not full of bitter harshness, sounded teasing and so Thor responded with a smile, and "It's amazing what I learnt from you, brother."

Loki offered a half-smile, more than he had gifted Thor with for a long time. Thor internally glowed with pride.

"I should be leaving soon," Loki said, though he made no move to get up.

"Stay until you have your strength back," Thor urged him.

"What of your friends, don't they worry about my presence here?"

In fact they did worry. Thor knew Clint was probably over their heads in the vents, watching. Tony would have JARVIS spying on the room as well. Steve would be pummelling a punching bag while Natasha kept Bruce company and kept his mind off Loki's presence in the tower.

"Don't worry about them," Thor said firmly, "You just concentrate on getting better."

Loki nodded once then laid back on the pillows while Thor went back to the book. They spent the rest of the afternoon in companionable silence.

"I wish you would stay," Thor said that night as he bedded down beside his brother, like they used to as children. He knew by morning, Loki would be gone.

"I sometimes wish I could too," Loki admitted, shocking Thor with the statement. Perhaps Loki was still sick.

"Midgard is quite boring, with all its rules and things. I wish I could stay in one place without worrying about being captured. Sometimes I wish I could return to how it was before," Loki whispered, staring up at the ceiling, resolutely not looking at Thor. "But we can't go back, it's impossible to change the past."

"Aye, it is. But the future is not set in stone, brother, that we can change," Thor said, not getting his hopes up but also allowing some hint of it to colour his voice.

Loki didn't respond and soon he was sleeping. Thor stayed up as long as he could but eventually days of little sleep caught up to him and he too fell into slumber.

In the morning, just as he thought, Loki was gone. The rooms Thor had been given were empty of everything Loki had brought with him as well as the other God himself. Thor wasn't surprised but he was disappointed. Still, the conversation from the night before gave him hope that things might change. That maybe someday Loki would come home.


End file.
